Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Moscow is prepared to continue fighting in Ukraine until all its objectives are met if no negotiated settlement is reached. Speaking in China after attending a major military parade alongside other authoritarian leaders, Putin cast the war as part of a broader challenge to the US-led global order.
The remarks came shortly after former US President Donald Trump attempted to broker a breakthrough. Trump recently hosted Putin in Alaska, ending Russia’s diplomatic isolation and urging him to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin acknowledged Trump’s “sincere desire” to mediate but remained skeptical of progress, saying such a summit required serious preparation.
“I have never ruled out the possibility of a meeting with Zelensky. But is there any point? Let’s see,” Putin said. He suggested Zelensky could travel to Moscow, though Ukraine’s foreign minister dismissed the idea as “knowingly unacceptable.”
Meanwhile, UK Defence Secretary John Healey, visiting Kyiv, told the BBC that Trump had managed to draw Putin to the table but stressed that Western nations were ready to increase pressure if diplomacy stalls. “We are prepared to put extra economic pressure on Putin and to give extra aid to Ukraine so they can keep in the fight,” Healey said.
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Asked in Beijing if the conflict might soon end, Putin replied that there was “a certain light at the end of the tunnel,” but warned that if diplomacy fails, Russia would pursue its objectives militarily. He reiterated Moscow’s refusal to surrender the Donbas region and repeated demands that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions and cease what he called discrimination against ethnic Russians.
Putin also suggested that Western security guarantees for Ukraine after a potential peace deal would not apply to territories like Donbas, which Moscow claims have “chosen” to join Russia—through widely discredited referendums following annexation.
The war, launched by Russia in February 2022, remains deadlocked. While Western leaders emphasize sanctions and military aid to Kyiv, Putin’s latest comments underline his determination to push forward unless Ukraine concedes to Moscow’s terms.